Machine for paint-filling depressions in parts



July 18, 1950 H. PETERS ETAL 2,515,891

MACHINE FOR PAINT-FILLING DEPRESSIONS IN PARTS Filed May 5, 1947 I gy- 2- 24 I 10 24 27 2 1 30 IN VEN TOR. BEWJAMWPEDLOZV 6/10" BY Ham mew E7227,

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Patented July 18, 1950 MACHINE FOR PAINT-FILLING DEPRESSIONS IN PARTS Herman Peters and Benjamin Pedlow, Muncie, Ind., assignors to The Serrick Corporation, Muncie, Ind., a corporation of Ohio Application May 5, 1947, Serial No. 746,140

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a machine for decorating parts which have been preformed, in one surface, with design-defining depressions.

Parts made of metal, plastic, or other relatively hard substances, may be decorated by forming therein depressions in the shape of letters, figures, or other designs, and then filling those depres- "sions with paint or any other desired material.

If the paint or other contrasting material is solidly filled into the depressions, and none of such material is left on the undepressed portions of the surface in which the depressions are formed,

a noticeable and decorative or useful design is thereby brought into considerable prominence on the treated surface. Such decoration is well known in the art; but has heretofore been produced only by relatively unsatisfactory and inefiicient methods.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel mechanism for thus filling paint or other suitable material into depressions prethereby being caused to flow into the depressed designs, substantially filling the same, and substantially without depositing any paint upon the undepressed portions of the part surface. Further objetcs of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, our invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying "drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and

that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of mechanism constructed in accordance with our invention and adapted to facilitate the practice of our method;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section therethrough; Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts in another positionof adjustment. I

We have found that, if a bubble of paint, or

like material, is brought into contact with a depressed region in a relatively hard surface, while that surface is held in a substantially horizontal position and facing downwardly, the paint or similar material will be picked up by the depressed surface and will flow through the convolutions of the depression, substantially to fill the depression, while little, if any, of the paint or similar material will be deposited upon the adjacent undepressed portions of the surface. We have found that the filling of such depressions in such a surface, therefore, is facilitated if the paint is applied while the surface is held in the above posture. While paint can be applied manually in accordance with our novel method, we propose to facilitate the practice of that method through the medium of the mechanism disclosed herein.

As illustrated in the drawings, we have provided a mechanism for treating a part such as that indicated by the reference numeral [0 in Fig. 3, and having a flat or contoured surface II formed with a plurality of depressed regions l2, to carry out our novel method of decoration. We provide a tank or vessel, indicated generally by the reference numeral l3 and preferably having a relatively heavy bottom plate l4 surrounded by upstanding walls l5 for receiving a quantity of paint or other liquid to be applied to the parts, the vessel being preferably filled substantially to the level indicated by the reference numeral 16. Upstanding from the bottom plate l4, and suitably secured thereto near one end of the vessel, is a bracket I! upon which is adjustably mounted a stop element l8 formed with elongated slots I8 with which cooperate headed bolts l9 threaded into the bracket 11, for retaining the element H8 in any suitable position of adjustment. The element 18 is formed to provide an upstanding abutment 2i] for use in the manner which will appear hereinafter.

Near the bracket I1 there is secured to the bottom plate M a standard 2| formed to provide spaced vertical legs 22 and 23 which project upwardly beyond the open top of the vessel l3. A lever 24 is oscillably supported upon the upper end of the standard leg 23 by means of a journal pin 25 which penetrates the lever 24 intermediate its ends. An element 26 is pivotally connected at 2'! to one arm of the lever 24, depending therefrom to support one end of a supporting element 28.

A lever 24 is similarly supported by a journal pin 25 at the upper end of the standard leg 22,

and a similar element 26 is pivoted at 2'! to the corresponding end of said lever 24' and depends therefrom to support the opposite end o the supporting element 28.

One end of a link 29 is pivoted at 30 to the opposite arm of the lever 24 and supports a finger 3|, upstanding from an elevator platform 32, said finger being connected to said link by a journal pin 33. Similarly, a link 29 is pivoted at 39' to the corresponding arm of the lever 24' and pivotally supports a finger 3| likewise connected to the elevator 32, through a journal pin 33'.

Near the opposite end of the vessel, a similar standard 34 provides upstanding legs 35 and 35' upon which are similarly supported levers 36 and 36'. A supporting element 39 has arms 31 and 31' pivotally connected, respectively, to corresponding arms of the levers 36 and 35 through journal pins 38 and 38'; and the opposite ends of said levers support depending links 43 and 4D, pivotally connected thereto by pins 4| and 4!, the lower ends of said links being connected to fingers 42 and 42, connected to the adjacent end of the elevator 32, through journal pins 43 and 43', the elements 42 and 43 not being shown.

'Intermediate its ends, the elevator 32 is formed with two apertures 34 and 45 spaced apart upon a line transverse to the line joining the standards 2| and 34; and guide posts .45 and ll, suitably upstanding from the bottom plate M, are slidably received in said apertures, respectively. The guide posts hold the elevator against canting about an axis perpendicular to the plane of Fig. 3; and the elevator may be extended to project between the legs 22 and 23 and between the legs 35 and 35', to prevent oscillation of said elevator about a vertical axis.

A series of cups 48 is secured to the upper surface of the elevator 32, said cups being suitably spaced along the length of said elevator to register with a corresponding number of depressions I 2 formed in the surface I I of a part Ii], when such part is supported upon the supporting elements 23 and 39, with one end in contact with the abutment surface 20. Each of such elements is formed in its uppermost surface with an upto be used over long periods with a standard form of part to be decorated. In such circumstances, a separate elevator 32, with properly located screw-receiving apertures, will be provided for each job. If desired, however, the screws 50 may all pass through an elongated slot in the elevator 32, so that the cups and screws may be adjusted, longitudinally of the elevator, and clamped in any selected positions by turning down the screws 50.

The parts are so proportioned and designed that, when the supporting elements 28 and 39 are in their most elevated positions, the open mouths of the cups on the elevator 32 will be located below the level It. A part It is now rested in the supporting elements 28 and 39, with one end of said part in contact with the abutment surface 20, the position of the plate I8 having been previously adjusted so that, when the part is so abutted against the surface 20, each of its depressed regions will be in vertical registry with one of the cups 48. Now, the part I 0 is depressed, thereby moving the supporting elements 28 and 39 downwardly to shift the lever 36 in a clockwise direction and the lever 24 in a counter-clockwise direction, whereby the elevator 32 will be correspondingly raised. Thus the supporting elements 28 and 39 and the elevator 32 will move oppositely to approach each other. As the mouths of the cup elements 48 emerge from beneath the surface of liquid in the vessel 53, each will carry a quantity of paint, and the surface tension of the paint is such that the liquid will be rounded up above the cup mouths in the man- .ner clearly illustrated at 5| in Fig. 4. We presently believe that each such quantity of paint will constitute a bubble, entrapping air in the depression 49 of its cup element 48. As the part In and the cups 48 approach each other, the center of the rounded surface of the quantity of paint carried in each cup will first contact the part H3 within the registering depressed region, and the paint will be caused, by a quasi-capillary action, to flow from the cups into the depressed regions l2, substantially filling each of such regions, and substantially without the deposition of any paint on the surface I! surrounding the depressed regions. Of course, each cup will be suitably proportioned and shaped to cooperate most effectively with the articular depressed region with which it registers.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the parts will be so proportioned that the elevator 32 and its associated parts connected to the adjacent arms of the levers 24 and 36 will overbalance the supporting elements 28 and 39 and their associated arms of said levers, but will be overbalanced by the supporting elements plus the weight of a part In. When the elements are thus proportioned, merely placing a part 10 upon the supports 28 and 39 will set thedevice in motion to attain the relation illustrated in Fig.4; and thereupon, when the operator removes the part to be treated from the supports 28 and 39, the elevator will automatically return to the position of Fig. 2.

We claim as our invention:

1. A device for use in decorating articles preformed with depressed designs comprising a vessel containing a decorating liquid and having an open top, a standard adjacent each end of said vessel and projecting above the top of said vessel, a lever for each standard rockably mounted about a horizontal axis and supported intermediate its ends upon its respective standard near the upper end thereof, a supporting element pivotally depending from one arm of each lever and suspended at all times above the level of liquid in said vessel, a link. pivotally depending from the opposite arm of each lever, an elevator located in said vessel and suspended from said links, said supporting elements being adapted to receive and suspend such an article with its design-carrying are elevated, with said applicators below the level of liquid in said vessel, and being elevated, assaid first-named lever arms are depressed, to bring paint retained by each of said applicators into engagement with a depressed region of said surface at an elevation above the level of liquid in said vessel.

2. The device of claim 1 including guide means cooperable with said elevator to control the posture of said elevator during movementthereof in response to oscillation of said levers.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said standards and said guide means are supported within said vessel and extend vertically upwardly from the bottom of said vessel.

4. The device of claim 2 in which said guide means comprises a pair of posts spaced apart upon a line transverse to the line joining said standards and slidably engaged in corresponding apertures in said elevator.

5. In a device of the class described, a vessel for containing a liquid to be applied to articles, a standard upstanding within said vessel near each end thereof, a lever for each standard, each such lever being pivotally supported intermediate its ends on its standard near the upper end thereof and above the liquid level to be maintained in said vessel, and each lever having a first arm projecting toward the other standard and a second arm projecting away from the other standard, an elevator, link means providing a connection between the first arm of each of said levers and said elevator, whereby said elevator is supported from said levers, and an article supporting element pivotally connected with the second arm of each lever.

6. In a device of the class described, a vessel for containing a liquid to be applied to articles,

two levers, fulcrum means for said respective levers located at separated points above the level of liquid to be maintained in said vessel and supporting said levers respectively for oscillation about spaced, parallel axes, each of said levers having a first arm and a second arm projecting oppositely from its fulcrum means, one arm of each lever extending toward the fulcrum means of the other lever, an elevator, link means providing a supporting connection between the first arm of each lever and said elevator, and an article supporting stirrup pivotally supported from the second arm of each lever.

HERMAN PETERS.

BENJAMIN PEDLOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,452,888 Marsh Apr. 24, 1923 1,612,452 Lormor Dec. 28, 1926 1,689,062 Titchener Oct. 23, 1928 1,838,118 Smith Dec. 29, 1931 1,865,830 Butler July 5, 1932 1,910,885 Dickerson May 23, 1933 1,960,341 Keith May 29, 1934 2,373,721 Taylor et al Apr. 17, 1945 

